Teachers' conflict management styles: The role of attachment styles and classroom management efficacy

Constructive conflict management strategies are important in maintaining a positive classroom environment yet little is known about interpersonal or school variables associated with teachers' use of such strategies with students. Teachers high in self-reported classroom management efficacy (CMEFF) and security of attachment (low on avoidance, anxiety) were predicted to endorse use of positive classroom management strategies (e.g., integrating, compromising) more than insecure teachers and those low in CMEFF. Teachers (N = 283) from eleven schools (seven elementary), largely female and white, responded to a questionnaire in their boxes (29.4% response rate). School and teacher demographic variables were included in a multivariate regression after preliminary analysis suggested that ignoring the multilevel structure of the data made little difference in results; school variances were small compared with teacher variances. CMEFF and years teaching had positive, significant effects on use of integrating and compromising strategies, while avoidance had negative effects on both and anxiety on integrating strategies. Implications for teacher development are discussed.     

Committing to your work, spouse, and children: Implications for work-family conflict

When trying to balance work and family responsibilities, many workers experience conflict between these two roles. Although role commitment has been viewed both as contributing to and alleviating conflict, this relationship has not been fully tested. Using a sample of female nurses and police officers, we examined the direct and indirect relationship of role commitment with work-spouse and work-parent conflict. Increased work-spouse conflict was associated with decreased spouse commitment. Increased work-parent conflict was associated with increased parent commitment but with decreased spouse and job commitment. Job commitment moderated the relationships between irregular work schedules and work-spouse conflict and between job control and work-spouse conflict. Parent commitment moderated the relationship between irregular work schedules and work-parent conflict. These results suggest that, depending on the role, commitment may either alleviate or exacerbate conflict.     

我究竟该听谁的?——一例恋爱冲突的案例报告

本例是由父母与男友就恋爱问题的不一致意见导致来访者不知道如何选择而引发的一般心理问题。咨询师通过倾听、理解、共情等技术与求助者建立了良好的咨询关系,在此基础上进一步了解来访者的基本情况和相关资料,共同找出问题关键点在于各种交往关系中习惯于迎合别人,而忽视了自己内心感受。通过运用认知疗法进行咨询,引导来访者认识到在恋爱问题上,自己心里的想法和决定最重要,同时也让其认识到自己有这个能力对恋爱问题作出合适的选择。     

文化冲突与价值碰撞:安乐死问题根源探究——兼及反思国内安乐死问题之讨论

20世纪80年代国内学术界及公众对安乐死问题的关注与讨论日渐升温,但总体上对安乐死作为问题的理解和把握仍显不足。安乐死作为一种临终生命处置方式而被争论不止,其缘起于西方文化系统中内在的冲突与价值碰撞,集中表现在:宗教文化、医学职业文化和政治文化领域。这三种文化各自内在的价值冲突与不同文化之间的相互碰撞造就了安乐死问题。     

Researching the reintegration of formerly abducted children in northern Uganda through action research: Experiences and reflections

This paper presents experiences and reflections on the use of a participatory research methodology under the difficult conditions of a war situation in northern Uganda. We draw from two complimentary approaches in action research to explain our methodology while doing research on the reintegration of formerly abducted children. First, the experience oriented approach, which emphasizes the need to articulate experience as a basis for learning and knowledge. Second, the exemplary participatory approach which highlights the importance of enhancing empowerment and the need to find solutions for social problems. We find these two approaches useful for doing action research in a conflict area because of their emphasis on experience and empowerment respectively. In our research, experience is important because of the children's encounter with the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels that both needs to be understood and justifies reintegration. On the otherhand, empowerment is important for our assumption that the children's experience and encounter with the LRA has disempowering effects on them. We demonstrate the use of the approaches in our research by enhancing participation, balancing power relations and being aware of ethical issues while at the same time attempting to make the research valid inspite of the challenges. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Advancing measurement of work and family domain boundary characteristics

Recent research offers promising theoretical frameworks for thinking about the work–family interface in terms of the boundaries individuals develop around work and family. However, measures for important constructs proposed by these theories are needed. Using two independent samples, we report on the refinement of existing boundary flexibility measures. Additionally, inter-domain transitions are introduced as a theoretically sound conceptualization of the frequency with which the work and family domains come in contact. Results from Study 1 further support the existence of two flexibility factors, willingness and ability, for the work and family domains, respectively. Results from Study 2 provide evidence for the nomological network surrounding the flexibility and inter-domain transitions measures in relation to role centrality, perceptions of domain blurring, and family-supportive organizational perceptions. Also, as hypothesized, boundary flexibility predicted inter-domain transitions, and inter-domain transitions predicted work–family conflict, with additional support for several hypothesized mediated effects between these constructs.     

The role of political skill in the stressor–outcome relationship: Differential predictions for self- and other-reports of political skill

The beneficial role of political skill in stress reactions and performance evaluations has been demonstrated in a substantial amount of empirical research. Most of the research, however, has focused on self-perceptions of political skill. This study examines the differential moderating effects of self- vs. other-rated political skill in the conflict – emotional burnout and performance relationships, using two samples including non-academic staff employees of a large university (N = 839) and a variety of office and retail employees from an automotive organization (N = 142). We argue that self-reported political skill moderates the relationship between conflict and a self-reported strain-related outcome that is important to the individual (i.e., emotional burnout), but that supervisor-rated political skill does not moderate this relationship. Further, we argue that supervisor-rated political skill moderates the relationship between conflict and an outcome important to the supervisor and the organization (i.e., job performance), but that self-reported political skill does not moderate this relationship. Findings partially support our hypotheses as both self and supervisor-rated political skill neutralized the negative effects of conflict on burnout, but only supervisor-rated political skill neutralized the negative effects of conflict on performance. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.     

Hypocrites or maligned cooperative participants? Experimenter induced normative conflict in zero-sum situations

The failure to recognize the influence of two distinct forms of moral norms can lead to the misattribution of moral behavior to egoistic motives. This is illustrated in the research of Batson and his colleagues (e.g., Batson, Kobrynowicz, Dinnerstein, Kampf, & Wilson, 1997). They reported the appearance of moral failure and hypocrisy motivation in several experiments employing essentially the same “zero-sum” experimental situation. They cited as evidence the discrepancy between participants’ apparently self-serving private acts and their subsequent public ratings of the morality of what they had done as well as their recognition of the “most” moral way to behave. The research reported here supported an alternative explanation that located the experimenter’s implicit and explicit instructions as the source of the discrepancy between the participants’ private acts and their public ratings. The findings confirmed the hypothesis that Batson and his colleagues had not merely made moral norms “salient”. They had actually presented their participants with contradictory “demands”: explicitly inviting them to meet the norm of justified self-interest in private but then give public lip-service to the experimenter’s instructions as to a supererogatory way to behave. When either of the demands was removed, the “hypocrisy” no longer occurred.     

Between Open-minded Critical Thinking and Closed-minded Allegiance: Educational Tensions in Societies Involved in Intractable Conflict

In modern democratic societies, one of the main roles of education is to promote critical thinking and open-mindedness. However, this objective can sometimes be seen as clashing in many societies with another one of education's primary objectives—to inculcate in the younger generation a set of common values and beliefs that reinforces collective identity. The current article examines the tension between these two educational goals—fostering open-mindedness and critical-thinking skills, on the one hand, and promoting closed-minded national identity, on the other hand, in the context of intractable conflicts. In particular, we offer an analysis of the unique challenges of nurturing open-minded and critical thinking among students in the presence of processes and content common in education systems of conflict-ridden societies. These challenges are discussed in relation to the role that open-mindedness and critical thinking could play in promoting peace-building processes were they not hindered by nationalistic educational approaches designed to ensure unwavering support of the conflict.